To etch out a prominent image of what it means to be a not-for-profit system in a sea of for-profit systems in the south Florida market, Intracoastal Health Systems, Inc., (West Palm Beach, Fla.), embarked on a community-focused advertising campaign that featured real employees in the ads.
"Featuring actual staff members, physicians and volunteers communicates subliminal messages about the hospital being for the community," said Pat Bowers, Intracoastal's director of PR and marketing.
Last year with an advertising budget of over $2 million, the hospital aggressively blanketed the core West Palm Beach community with an ad campaign that used three local TV stations, extensive print (Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel and Florida business magazines), and direct mail. The campaign packed its biggest punch in the October-March timeframe when West Palm Beach is most populated with affluent vacationers on extended stays in their vacation homes.
The ads emphasize Intracoastal's out-patient care: senior health centers, women's health centers and urgent care centers, with a tagline of "All the care you need" which stresses the system's expertise in a number of core service areas like cancer, oncology, and heart disease.
The campaign broke even, generating a one-to-one return on investment from physician revenues and net hospital income. And during the heaviest advertising period, the phone lines rang off the hook with patient inquiries and appointments.
It probably didn't hurt that first lady Hillary Clinton dedicated Intracoastal's breast cancer center in October. And more recently, when the President broke his leg, he chose member affiliate St. Mary's Medical Center, for his emergency care.
(Intracoastal Health Systems, Inc., 407/655-5511)